Saturday, November 17, 2007

The thing that most aggravates me about online shopping is getting to the checkout page and seeing a place to enter a coupon code--and not having one. It's like that little box taunts me: "Lookie here, you could be saving money, if only you knew the secret code...neener, neener, neener!"

I've often spent a few minutes frantically googling for a code, to no avail. I thought NaughtyCodes.com looked promising when I first discovered it a couple of years ago, but it's not often been helpful. Generally my search yields only expired codes, and I end up resigned to paying full price.

Not anymore!

RetailMeNot.com is built on the same principles as BugMeNot.com--another useful site I take advantage of occasionally.* When you're completing a purchase and come across one of those tantalizing "enter coupon code" boxes, simply head over to RetailMeNot.com and do a quick search. The site provides up-to-date coupon codes, along with details about the discount and a success rate (after you try the code, you indicate whether it worked for you or not, thus boosting or lowering the code's rating). You can then copy the code you want and paste it into that box.

But wait, there's more! That one simple search for your store will also turn up a sidebar comparing discounts at similar stores, as well as an option for you to enter your email address and be notified of new coupons for the same store.

You can also search differently--if you do your coupon scouting before you are already in the process of purchasing, you can find your preferred shopping website at RetailMeNot.com first, and then click a link that will take you straight to the website with the code activated. Or, you can search by product category and look to see which store has the best coupon code.

Unlike my last two Surfin' Saturdays, I can really vouch for this one. On Tuesday night I was ordering prints from Snapfish and saw that little coupon code box. Aha--an opportunity to test out RetailMeNot! I headed over to the site and whaddaya know? Twenty-five percent off my order with just a few clicks. Niiiice.

So now, you can do your online Christmas shopping and taunt those coupon code boxes right back. And with the money you save, you'll have enough left over to buy a Christmas present for me. ;)

*BugMeNot, for those of you unfamiliar, offers bogus login usernames/passwords you can use on sites that want you to register to read an article--like the NY Times online. Rather than taking the time to create an account with your personal information, and thus get yourself signed up for more spam, you can hop over to BugMeNot.com and find a generic username/password to obtain access. Nifty!

2 comments:

Hey Ames! I just wanted to thank you-- I was ordering a Christmas present online and I came to the promotion code option... I remembered your post, went to retailmenot.com and found a code that gave me 15% off! Thank you so much! I hope you're doing well, enjoy the holiday season with your hubby and precious baby boy :)

Hi Amy, Thanks for the beautiful Christmas photo & letter. I also wanted to thank you for posting about this site. I went to order pictures online and the coupon code box popped up and I remembered your post, so I checked it out and I saved $4 on a $9 order! Amazing! Anyway, I thought I'd share the joy with you. Hope you had a blessed Christmas!Love, Sandra

me and my guys

About Me

I often suffer from spiritual amnesia, easily forgetting who Jesus is and what He has done for me—so I write to remember His faithfulness. I'd love it if you listen in and add your thoughts to the conversation!